InQuire The University of Kent’s student publication
www.inquiremedia.org
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Exclusive: Interview With Democratise UKC
Monday 15 November 2021 17.5
Dating Tragedies: Real-Life Encounters in Canterbury and beyond Lifestyle: Page 8
Postgrad Teacher Speaks Out Against their Department
Canterbury Culture: In review
Nathan Collins-Cope, Newspaper News Editor
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nQuire sat down with Alexandra Rosie – a PhD candidate and postgraduate teacher (PGT) at the University of Kent Chemistry department. Alix got in contact with InQuire earlier in the term, aggrieved about the treatment she and other postgraduate teachers have faced at the hands of their departments. The Chemistry and Physics departments were attempting to instill what Alix called “essentially zero-hours contracts” on the PGTs. She showed InQuire the contract they were given, which showed 1 hour for each teaching term (Autumn and Spring). This contrasted with the amount of time she was timetabled to teach – 87.5 hours for these terms collectively. She described the speed with which these contracts were expected to be signed. “They sent us the contracts the day before teaching started – which I think was [part of their] plan”. “It had [all the postgrad teachers] saying ‘I don’t know what to do – do we sign it or do we not sign it?”. She decided to reject the contract, on the basis that it was essentially a reversal to the old system – a system which was subject to strikes a few years back by the University and College Union (UCU). Alix filled us in on the detail of these strikes, and how they “Used to be called Hourly Paid Lectures (HPL)” and how they compared to Zero Hours Contracts. “Then UCU campaigned for them to be removed and [struck an agreement with the Uni]. People found it hard to plan their finances [under the old system] – they changed it to the current system and it’s been like that for 5 years” The current system is set up with the intention for PGTs to be paid a set amount of hours, agreed upon be-
forehand, even if the university decides to cancel them for whatever reason. This was campaigned for and implemented largely so that “PGTs could plan their finances”, as Alix puts it. The PhD candidate then received an email from someone at the university, explaining why there had been a drastic reduction in the hours her and her peers were contracted to work. Alix summed it up for InQuire, saying that it was related to the coronavirus pandemic, and that the university does not want to ‘overcommit the budget’, in case they had to cancel more in-person sessions due to another wave of infections. “Last year, the first term was full labs, the second term... no labs. How are PGTs are meant to budget their life? You should have a budget for teaching – you know these many hours are gonna be taught, you need us to teach for you." This culminated in a meeting with representatives from the Finance and Graduate Studies sections of the Natural Sciences department. Alix told InQuire that it seemed like they did not care. “They seemed dismissive. It was a weird meeting – they were telling us how to spend our mon-
ey, saying ‘You shouldn’t be relying on this money, etc’ – like you don’t know anyone’s life, people may have children – I can’t believe I sat in this meeting” She said that one representative told them : ‘when I was a student, I didn’t need to do this much teaching – I just looked after my money’ – Alix was displeased with this, repeating the sentiment “Everyone’s situation is different – you might have someone to look after at home like a sick mum – you don’t know what’s happening in our lives” Departments have asked PGTs to “trust them", according to our interviewee – “but last year, one of (the PGTs) didn’t get paid for 17 hours of her work – so how can we trust them when we know there are instances of us not getting paid for our work”. The university made the following statement to InQuire, when quizzed on the issue. “In 2018/19 the University reviewed the use and employment of Hourly Paid Lecturers (HPL) and Graduate Teaching Assistants. This work was done in conjunction with UCU and other stakeholders. As a result of this review, it was agreed that postgraduate students who are engaged as teachers and demonstrators are provided with HPL contracts that guarantee the minimum number of hours of work that will be of-
The Ingram building. Photo by Tarini Tiwari.
fered during a given period, usually a term or academic year. “However, we have recently become aware of a number of postgraduate students who have not been switched to these contracts. HR are currently working to understand why this has happened and how the situation can be remedied as soon as possible.” The president of the local branch of UCU, Claire Hurley, also gave a statement to us on the matter: "Precarious and insecure working is the dirty secret of Higher Education, and Kent UCU abhor employment contracts which force staff to live hand to mouth, not knowing how they will put food on the table one week to the next. The use of zero-hours contracts should have been abolished by the University, but we know these types of contracts are still being used in areas like student support. It now seems as if 'guaranteed minimum hours' contracts are now also being exploited leaving our postgraduates not knowing how many hours of work they will be paid for. Kent UCU believes that all staff should be treated with dignity and respect, and given a fair and secure employment contract. Casualization and precarious working are included as one of the '4 Fights' which Kent UCU members will be taking industrial action over in the coming months, as we are fighting to end the use of zero-hours contracts in Universities. If you support your teachers, admin and support staff being paid properly for the work that they do, please support the UCU strikes". In recent developments, a national ballot was held by UCU on whether strike action should happen. It seems that the pandemic has affected other universities’ approaches to how they treat teaching staff. There was a 53% turnout (with a minimum of 50% needed to validate the ballot), with 79% voting to for strike action. Certain universities need to have a recount on the issue, but it is seeming more and more likely that action will be taken to combat the perceived injustices that Alix has shed a light on.
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